Spade
by Eline-chan
Summary: Ikki finds someone who isn't affected by his charms and takes an interest in her, much to the girl's annoyance. His fanclub in the meantime, isn't very happy about the appearance of the new girl and tries its best to get rid of her. Ikki X OC
1. It's not working

_A/N - I wrote this a while back when the anime was still airing, and I found it again after digging through my old stuff. Thought I might as well post it ^^  
Also, the weird formatting here and there is the result of using shift+enter when writing on PC, and the normal enter when writing on tablet (it happens from chapter 6 onwards)_

* * *

"Have you tried that yet?"

"Tried what?"

"That caFÉ!" I pulled up a brow at the strange noise as I turned around, seeing the girl on the ground.

"Cass…" I sighed as I offered my hand.

"It's not my fault… The road is uneven." She pouted as she took it and got back to her feet.

"Of course it is." I muttered as I looked at the road, it was as even as a road could possibly be. "What was that about a café?"

"I overheard the others talking about it. What was it called again…" She stared off into the distance as she tried to remember the name, then she shifted her gaze to the ground.

"Alright, can you describe it?"

"It's like a maid and butler café…"

"Meido no Hitsuji?" Her eyes lit up as she turned to me.

"You know it?" I shrugged.

"I walk past there almost every day on the way home, never actually went inside. Looked quite expensive."

"Well, that's what everyone thought. Then Toshiru went there once and she said it was delicious besides being surprisingly affordable."

'_If she can afford it then anyone can, guess I had it wrong.'_ I thought as I counted the contents of my purse.

"Alright, Cass, you want to go? I'll treat you to something good." It'd been a while since I'd done something generous for anyone and if I'd do it for anyone then it'd be Cass and no one else.

"Really? You sure you can afford that?"

"Of course I can! I'm not poor or anything." That unwillingly came out on a sarcastic tone and I bit my lip, hoping she hadn't heard.

"Alright then, if it's okay with you." I let out an internal sigh of relief as I smiled.

"It is. Now, let's get going. Daylight's fading." She nodded and together we made our way over to the café.

* * *

It certainly did look fancy and I felt my breath stopping for a moment as I entered. It was just so classy. Not only was it classy, it was also rather busy and all the maids - I counted two - were rushing around and didn't have time for us. We stood for a few seconds before a butler came from behind the counter to greet us.

"Welcome, miladies. My apologies for taking so long."

"Oh, that's fine, it's busy after all." I said as I smiled.

"Well, I shall take you to your seats." He took a slightly bow before turning and walking off. I took a step forward, but Cass wasn't following. I could guess what was the matter and grabbed her arm, pulling her along. We sat down at a table in the corner and put our bags between our legs.

"Can I provide you with some refreshments, miladies?"

"That'd be nice. I'll have some water. Cass, what would you like?" Cass was staring at the guy with a form of amazement on her face that I'd never even seen before. I shoved her and she seemed to snap out of it.

"What?"

"What you'd like to drink."

"Oh, some Cola, p-please." The guy nodded and took off to get our drinks.

"That was way too obvious, even for you." I muttered as I sighed and took the menu.

"Didn't you see him? He's-"

"Just a guy." I interrupted. "Seriously though, try to be more polite." She nodded embarassed.

"I'm sorry..." Realizing I was probably ruining the mood, I playfully leaned against her, holding the menu in front of her eyes.

"What would you like? It all sounds delicious, doesn't it?"

"Sandwiches. That sounds really good." She smiled like a little kid, beaming with happiness once again.

"Alright and I'll go for the rice omelette." I nodded as I closed the menu and put it down, looking around the café once more. It was different from other maid café's I'd been to. The difference being the thing I'd stated so many times already.

"Here are your drinks." The butler returned with a tray balanced on his hand, on it were a bottle of Cola and a simple glass of water. He set them down in front of us and folded the tray under his arm.

"Have you decided on a meal, miladies?" I nodded and turned to Cass.

"The s-sandwiches, please." Her voice was but a whisper and I let out a sigh before I could hold it back. The butler simply nodded.

"I'll have the rice omelette please." He nodded again and took a small bow.

"I'll bring your meals shortly, miladies."

"Thanks." I said as I nodded and watched him take off.

"You're usually never this bad when it comes to guys." I muttered as I looked sideways to Cass.

"Sorry, it's just… his eyes. I think I'll ask him out." I nearly spat out the water I'd brought up to my lips. She wasn't the kind of person who would just do something like that, at all. I cleared my throat and recovered my calm.

"I don't think you should… He looks pretty popular, he probably has a girlfriend already."

"But what if he doesn't? Why do you always tell me what to do anyway?" She raised her voice slightly and I could feel eyes drilling into my back.

"I don't tell you what to do, I merely give you advice. It's up to you whether you want to follow it or not. Now please, keep your voice down." I said sternly, I then softened a little. "I'm only trying to help you, Cass, you know that too, right?" She nodded.

"I do, sorry, but I'm still going to try."

"Alright, but wait until we're done eating. I don't want to cause any trouble for the other customers."

* * *

Cass was well known for her outbursts so I was glad that I'd been able to prevent one. But I wasn't particularly pleased about her idea of confessing to this guy, this complete stranger. He wasn't so special or at least, he didn't seem so to me. But she seemed determined, so I had no choice but to go with it. We stood after we'd finished out meals and I went to pay the bill, Cass stood behind me and nervously fiddled with the fringes of her shirt. As I'd been told, it was surprisingly affordable. The café was almost completely empty now, so I figured it had to be near closing time. That was actually a good thing, as Cass insisted on waiting for that. We went outside and waited by the worker's entrance. Cass was standing in the halo of a street light while I stayed a little further behind, hidden in the shadows.

* * *

When the guy did finally come out, my heart dropped and all the bad things that could happen rushed into my head all at once. Bad things including her previous reaction to a rejection. She didn't talk or eat for three days before I finally got through to her. I let out a deep breath.

'_No,'_ I thought, _'this is her choice. I'll have to keep out of it.'_ I thought as I stared at the two for a moment. Cass was stumbling, tripping over her words. The guy, however, had such a stoic expression on his face that he seemed almost alien.

"And I'm really sorry, but… I kind o- reall- like you." The last words came out as whispers.

"I'm sorry, but it's not mutual." I raised a brow. That was blunt. Cass nodded and turned to me, I could already see tears in her eyes. The guy's eyes followed hers and also landed on me. I came out of the shadows and sighed.

"I'll walk you home, Cass. Come on." I reached for her hand but she pulled back.

"I can walk home by myself, thanks. See you tomorrow." With her eyes to the ground, she walked away, I could hear from her footsteps that walking turned into running as soon as she'd turned the corner. She was the top runner in our class and I was the worst, so chasing her wouldn't make a difference. The guy, who was still standing around, looking somewhat like a lost puppy sighed.

"I'm sorry-"

"You have no reason to apologize." I interupted him. He seemed surprised. "Well, I told her not to. She just seemed so infatuated for some reason and I couldn't stop her." I turned to him and rubbed my eyes.

"Well, sorry for the trouble we've caused. I should get going."

"Oh, right…" He stared after me as I took off to the store. I was going to need some ice cream for tomorrow.

* * *

Almost immediately I realized that he was following and I halted, looking over my shoulders. He just kept on walking.

"Don't worry, I'm not following you or anything." He grinned as he walked past. "My house is this way."

"Hmm…" With squinted eyes I resumed my way. Now the roles had turned and he halted one moment, turning around to me. He stared at me for one minute straight and then frowned.

"What? Is there something on my face?" I asked as I wiped my cheek.

"It's not working."

"What is?"

"Nothing." He straightened his back and grinned. "Nothing at all."

'_What's with the mysterious act? That's just plain weird…' _I thought. Then I realized I still had to go to the store and quickly brushed past him.

"Sorry, have to go somewhere, no time." I said. Unfortunately for me, he was almost as fast as Cass and caught up to me in mere seconds. The store was in sight and I marched inside. When the doors closed behind me, a sense of safety returned.

* * *

When they opened again, however, that safety abandoned me without a second thought.

"Now it seems like you're following me…"

"Maybe I am. This is a rare night for me." I looked at the stars and shrugged.

"Seems like any other night to me." He looked up and nodded.

"Would you mind if I asked for your name?" That subject change wasn't very smooth and I grinned.

"I would." He eyed me closely, but then smiled before holding out his hand.

"I'm Ikki, nice to meet you …" I shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you." I simply answered before sighing. "I'm Alice." I decided that was enough information and continued my walk with a bag of ice cream buckets in my hand.

"Shall I carry that for you?" He sure was courteous. I stopped and sighed.

"Look, you just rejected my best friend. Are you just being nice or are you hitting on me?" I decided to straightforwardly ask him. I wasn't the type of person who grabbed any boy chance that appeared before me, especially if they had any relationship to my friends.

"What gives you the impression that I'm hitting on you?" I felt my face flush.

"No one's that kind to strangers." I said coolly.

"Really? Oh, my apologies then."

"Hmm."

"Though I never said I wasn't." A slightly evil smirk appeared on his face.

"So you were?"

"Maybe." I growled something and went on.

"So you live here." He said as he walked up the path behind me.

"Are you going to follow me inside or something?" I asked annoyed.

"Is that an invitation?"

"No! No, it is not!" I quickly said as I sifted through my bag in search of keys. Now I could even feel him breathing down my neck. I turned and pushed him away.

"No." I said as I gave him a stern look. He laughed and then turned, walking down the path and stopping when he was on the side walk again.

"It was nice meeting you. Maybe I'll see you again." He waved as he walked back into the direction we came from.

"Hey! You said you lived this way!"

"I guess I didn't." I had to try hard to be able to hear that and before I knew it he was out of sight.


	2. Crazy, all of them

I groaned as I stepped into the morning air the next day. I hadn't slept at all. I, who usually slept like a brick wall, hadn't slept at all. I usually fell asleep within ten minutes after getting into bed, but I hadn't been able to fall asleep at all. I ended up watching night time telly to have something to do. With two buckets of ice cream in the bag, I made my way through the streets to Cass's place. As I neared the area of the café that was necessary to pass in order to get to the part of the city where she lived, I unconsciously became wary. It was still only 6AM, so I doubted anyone would be around there anyway. As I convinced myself that was a fact, I tried to look as normal as possible upon passing by.

"Good morning." I froze and sighed as I turned my head, seeing Ikki coming out from behind a wall.

"Just morning for me." I said slightly annoyed as I yawned. "You're early."

'_Might as well try and be nice, maybe he'll go away.'_ I thought.

"To avoid the … traffic." He hesitated slightly. "Same to you." I held up the bag.

"On my way to Cass, she's probably in need of ice cream and an anime marathon."

"Again, I-"

"Again," I interrupted, "not your fault." He sighed.

"If you insist."

"I do. Now, I'm off. Still a ways to go." He nodded with a smile and turned.

"Be careful." Before I could make a witty comment, he'd already gone down the stairs.

* * *

Apparently, I'd blamed him so much for my sleeplessness that I started seeing him like the ultimate villain at some point. He wasn't that bad, but he was still annoying. I had no need for some random guy to talk to me. I was completely fine with the way things were.  
I walked up the stairs to the door of her apartment and rang the doorbell in a signature tune. When no answer came I decided to knock. Still nothing. I got my cell phone out and called her number. There was no ring from inside, but she didn't pick up either. I sighed as I put it away and stared at the bag. It was always one of two things after a rejection. She'd either spend a few days locked in her apartment or she'd go have fun to drown out the sadness. I figured it was number two this time and slowly descended the stairs again before walking back home.

Approaching the café again, I noticed that the door at the bottom of the stairs opened. A man came out carrying some garbage bags. He put them down at the top of the stairs and sighed. I instantly recognized him and gasped.

"Wa…ka?" He looked up, his eyes widening upon seeing me.

"Waka!" I yelled as I ran up to him and flew into his arms, forgetting the stairs and tumbling down together.

"You okay?" He asked worried as he sat up. I rubbed the back of my head and nodded. Waka had always been a man of steel, so I wasn't really worried about him.

"Sorry about that. It's just been so long!" I said as I gave him a proper hug.

"Waka!-" Ikki's voice came from inside along with running footsteps and the door slammed open, right against my head. He knelt down and looked at me, then at Waka, then back at me.

"Ikki…" Waka's voice was ominous and Ikki shrank back a little. I held up my hand.

"Waka, no need to be angry with him." They both helped me up and stared at me with worry in their eyes.

"I'm sorry… I wasn't really thinking when I attacked you like that." I grinned as I bowed in apology. "Please accept this as an apology." I said as I held out the bag to Waka. He took the bag, sighed and nodded.

"Apology accepted." He checked the contents of the bag. "Come on in, let's get this prepared before it's all gone."

"Alice, is your head really alright? I think I hit you pretty hard…" Ikki said worried as he observed me. I knocked on my head and smiled.

"I can take a hit or two, don't worry about it." Waka seemed like he wanted to say something, but stopped himself and led us back inside.

* * *

"So, how are your parents doing?" I raised my shoulders as I ate another spoonful of the ice cream. Somehow, it'd been made to look so incredibly beautiful that I could hardly believe it was made from the simple ice cream I supplied.

"They were somewhere in the Australian Outback last time I heard from them." He suddenly seemed worried.

"They left you alone again?"

"It's not a big deal. I can take care of myself." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I still can't believe they would choose traveling over you."

"It's not that big a deal."

"But you're eating properly? And taking good care of yourself?"

"Of course, you have no need to worry."

"Well, if you ever do need something, don't hesitate to stop by. You can get a free meal anytime." I smiled.

"Thanks, but I'm not planning on becoming a freeloader. Dad would kill me."

"Probably, but it's me we're talking about."

"Thanks. It's good that I found you again. I always wondered where you went after that."

"I wandered around for a bit, then decided to set up a café. I didn't purposely choose something like this though. Someone suggested this would fit me well."

"And they were right. It fits you perfectly."

"I'm glad you feel that way."

* * *

We continued throughout the day by bringing back memories and laughing about days gone past. When I thought we'd been talking for about an hour, we'd actually been at it for more than 4 hours.

"Waka..?" Ikki cautiously interrupted our conversation. "It's closing time."

"Oh, alright, clean up and you can leave for the day." Waka ordered as he nodded.

"We've been talking a long time…" I said slightly embarrassed.

"Catching up can take up any amount of time, nothing wrong with that." Waka reassured me as he stood up.

"Suppose so." I stood as well and gave him another hug, before letting go and smiling at him. "You've really come a long way."

"Same to you." He returned the smile as he led me out the back door and to the top of the stairs. "Take care on your way home."

"Will do, thanks for everything, Waka." I waved and made my way home with lifted spirits.

* * *

I shrieked when someone suddenly grabbed my arm, sighing in relief to see that it was Ikki.

"I think you owe me an explanation." He said accusingly.

"I don't owe you anything, but I'm in a good mood so why not." I properly turned to face him and smiled.

"Waka is kind of like my big brother." His eyes widened in surprise mixed with a tiny bit of relief.

"Seriously?"

"Well, not by blood, but if you count that out then we're like brother and sister."

"How did that happen? He's so… mean." That last word sounded like something a child would say and I couldn't help but snigger.

"I know what you mean. That's my dad's fault, really." Ikki just stared at me, hoping for an explanation.

"Well, my dad is a retired trainer. A trainer of soldiers and a good one on top of that, a feared one. As a result of that he was always really strict with everything. I guess Waka adopted that behavior a little." I could read the next question off his face and nodded.

"Waka was about 20 when my dad found him. He'd collapsed and was pretty much rotting away in an alley. My dad took him home and we cared for him. I was only 5 years at the time, but I still remember it very well. He stayed with us and learned everything both my parents had to teach. My mom with cooking and my dad with martial arts. Then he left five years later."

"I never thought…"

"I'm not surprised he didn't tell you. He's always kept to himself, even to me. Well, I was younger at the time so that could've been a reason."

"Thanks for telling me. Mind if I walk you home in return?"

"No problem."

* * *

I received a text and quickly took my phone from my pocket before flipping it open.

_Cass:_

_Went to have fun with the others today, hope you don't mind ^^_

_He seemed more interested in you anyway _

_Well doesn't matter, you can have him ;)_

It was her signature to always end every sentence with an emoticon. I sighed and grinned as I closed it.

* * *

"From your friend?" I nodded.

"She's going to be fine."

"Glad to hear that." He grinned slightly and for a moment I thought he'd secretly read along.

"Can I have your number?" He asked out of the blue.

"What for?"

"To give to Waka. He forgot to ask." I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

"Fine by me." We exchanged numbers and continued our walk.

"I can't help but wonder, though."

"About what?"

"Why you would possibly want to walk me home."

"Let's just say that you interest me."

"Really? Well, that'd be the first time anyone finds me interesting." I laughed, but he seemed very serious about it.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Well sorry, but no. I'm just me, nothing special." He grabbed my arm, made me face him and leaned forward, pressing his lips onto me.

"You have no idea just how special you are." He whispered onto my lips as he pulled back and smiled before turning and walking back the way we came. I stood frozen for at least three minutes before finally thawing out and realizing that he'd just stolen my first kiss. Now, with Cass's approval, it all seemed a little less wrong, but it was still enough to make my head spin.

* * *

Hormones that'd been cooped up until last night were now running wild inside me and I lay sleepless once again.

* * *

At exactly three o'clock, just five minutes after I'd finally fallen asleep, the doorbell rang. I let out an uncontrolled growl as I pushed myself up.

"If it's that guy then I'm going to beat the living daylights out of him." I grumbled as I got out of bed and made my way to the front door, plainly opening it and staring at the visitor. A group of four girls stood at the door. Three of them looked rather plain in comparison to the fourth one, who seemed to come straight from some sort of fancy tv show.

"Can I help-" I feigned courtesy.

"You can." The fourth one interrupted me.

"Oh… Okay." She smiled as she looked me up and down.

"You know Ikki, do you not?"

"I suppose." I smiled to myself, now I could blame him for waking me.

"You've gotten quite close to him, wouldn't you agree?"

"I've known him for two days now, so no, not really. He's kind of annoying to be honest." I yawned shamelessly.

"How dare you say that about Ikki!" One of the girls at the back yelled as she wanted to jump me. The fancy one held up a hand to stop her.

"Regardless of what you think of him. We urge you to stay away from him or bad things might happen." She sounded dead serious, but I burst out in laughter at that.

"B-bad things?" I stuttered as I wiped away a tear. "Oh that's funny. Whew." I caught my breath. "Well, it's not like I go around looking for him or anything. He's the one going after me."

"Good, then the bad things don't have to happen."

"Whatever." She smirked and turned, her gang followed after throwing me some angry glances first. I shrugged and closed the door.

"Crazy, all of them." I murmured as I lay back down in bed and closed my eyes.


	3. How does this not bother you?

I woke to a call from Ikki, a little too early in the morning.

"Alice?"

"Hmm?" I tucked the phone between my ear and my pillow and closed my eyes again.

"Did anything… happen last night?" I frowned. How would he know about that.

"Meh."

"What kind of answer is that?"

"You know them?" I avoided the question.

"Sort of. They're my fans." I grinned.

"Oh wow, you even have a fan club. I figured you were popular, but this is something else entirely."

"Mhmm." Before I could reply at all, he'd hung up.

"Alright, bye." I murmured as I shook my head, causing the phone to fall off the pillow and lay back down. A content sigh left me as I managed to catch the sleep once again.

* * *

At about eleven in the morning, my alarm went off. It was a special Sunday alarm which only went off on Sunday, at eleven o'clock exactly. My dad had given it to me, so I wouldn't be in bed all day. Just turn it off, right? No. It rings for six hours straight before finally stopping. I forced myself out of bed, grabbed my cell phone, marched out of my room and slammed the door shut. I navigated the phone to my contacts and pressed the call button when it landed on Cass's number.

"Hey, Alice, what's up?"

"Not much. Wanna do something?"

"I can't, I'm sorry."

"You can't?" That was surprising. She never had anything to do.

"Sorry, school stuff!" She hung up before I even got a chance to ask what. It was summer vacation and we'd made our homework at the start of it.

"Liar." I growled as I hurled my phone onto the bed. I let out a deep breath and looked out the window.

"It's far too hot to go out anyway." I reasoned as I opened the doors to the balcony to let some fresh air in.

"A nice day of gaming it is."

* * *

I ended up gaming for two hours, having lunch and then watching a movie for an hour and a half. Then, near the end of the movie, which had left my eyes painfully red from crying, I heard noises coming from outside. Like a crowd right in front of my house. I stood and walked over to the balcony, making sure to wipe my tears before going outside. I hung over the railing, looking down and seeing -surprise surprise- a crowd in front of my house. In the middle of the crowd, however, I found Ikki.

"What the hell?" I wondered out loud as I frowned. I recognized the group that had paid me a midnight visit and came to the conclusion that this crowd was indeed his fan club. It was when I realized this, that he noticed me.

"Alice!" He waved at me as if they weren't even there.

"What?" I asked annoyed.

"Wanna go catch a movie?" I pulled up my brow at him.

"I don't think that's going to fit." I answered casually. He looked around him and pouted.

"Ladies, would you mind? I have to give that lady up there my full attention or she won't be satisfied."

"Hey! Don't twist my words!" I yelled angrily, he ignored me completely.

"Please? I promise I'll be back to play with you afterwards." He made it sound so wrong. The girls whined for another three minutes before they started to disband.

* * *

"How about now?" He asked when they'd all left. I sighed and went back inside, closed the doors to the balcony and made my way to the front door.

"Seriously?" I asked. He took off his sunglasses.

"What?" I sighed.

"Never mind. Which movie?"

"You can choose."

"Let me get-"

"It's my treat." He smiled an innocent smile.

"Thanks... But I just wanted to get dressed." He looked me up and down, realizing only now that these were my pajamas.

"Of course. I'll wait right here."

* * *

I knew that we were being followed, I could feel their eyes on me. I looked to the side, it didn't seem to bother Ikki in the slightest.

"How does this not bother you?"

"What?"

"Your stalkers."

"They're not stalkers."

"Not? Then why are they following us?" To be honest, they weren't even doing a good job at it. He looked around.

"They are?"

"Oh my word..." I planted a hand against my face and sighed.

"Does it bother you so much?"

"No, I just can't wrap my mind around it."

"It?" I wasn't completely sure what "It' was yet. It could be one of many things, but I had yet to choose.

"I don't even know anymore. Never mind, ignore me." He snickered.

"How is that funny?" I asked as I pouted.

"You're kind of cute when you're confused." I looked away to hide the blush on my face.

"I-I'm most certainly not." I countered.

"As you wish." I had to hand it to him, he was quite the gentleman.

* * *

"What would you like?" He asked me once we were inside the theatre.

"Popcorn and a soda?"

"Coming right up." He stood in line as I looked at the list of movies. There wasn't one I _had_ to see, so I ended up picking the one that sounded most appealing. A thriller about ghosts and demons.

"Have you decided?" He asked as he handed me the consumptions.

"Yeah, is 'deadly' okay?" He looked at the list and frowned.

"A thriller?" I nodded, then smirked. "Or are you scared?"

"Of course not. I'm just slightly surprised. It's not a very girly movie." I pulled up a brow.

"For future reference: I'm the most ungirly girl you'll ever meet." He laughed.

"Good to know."

* * *

When we were finally seated, I found it rather disturbing that all his fangirls sat a few rows behind us. They made up three full rows. The room turned dark and I started enjoying my popcorn, holding it to the side when Ikki softly elbowed me.

* * *

I was rather pleased with the movie I'd picked. Even more pleased when I heard gagging sounds from the rows behind us. During break, only half of the girls remained. They hadn't even seen the scariest part yet.

* * *

As I predicted, during that part, several girls got up and ran out of the theatre, their hands in front of their mouths to suppress screams. Looking to the side, I saw that Ikki was looking rather pale. I grinned to myself, these were definitely the best kind of movies.

* * *

"What did you think of it?" I asked afterwards as we walked outside. He shrugged and looked up to the sky, breathing in and out deeply a few times.

"It was alright. I'll be honest, though, I'm glad to be outside." I chuckled softly.

"It would be really hilarious if you wouldn't be able to sleep tonight." He turned to me and smirked as he leaned in closer.

"You're very welcome to help me fall asleep tonight." My face flushed and I quickly came up with a witty remark. I patted his shoulder.

"You're a big boy. Surely you can do as much as sleep alone." He straightened his back and nodded.

"Nicely done." He complimented me.

"Thank you very much. Not just for that, but for all of this. I really had a great time." I smiled kindly. It was the truth, despite not trusting him completely yet, I'd enjoyed going to see the movie with him.

"You're welcome. Maybe we can do this again sometime." Just as I was about to reply to that, someone randomly jumped out of the bushes and grabbed me, holding a knife at my throat as he hold out the other at Ikki.

"Your wallet, pal." The man said. Ikki quickly fumbled for the thing and gave it to the man without hesitation. Just as he took the wallet, I stamped my heel onto his foot, grabbed the hand that was holding the knife and worked him to the ground with a karate move. I placed my foot on his throat and held the knife in my hand, analyzing the weapon.

"This is a carnival prize." I laughed and increased the pressure on his throat when he tried to move.

"No, don't try to get away. Listen up. In a moment, I'm going to release you. Then you'll give the wallet back to that man and you're going to apologize for taking it. Is that understood?" He growled an insult and I sighed, pressing down harder.

"I said: "Is that understood?"." He nodded and I took my foot back, watching as he slowly got up, weighing his options, before giving the wallet back and mumbling an apology.

"Very good." I held out the knife at him. "Try to be a good boy from now on, okay?" He took the knife and slowly took off again.

* * *

"What the hell just happened?" Ikki asked amazed.

"Someone just attempted to rob you." I notified him.

"I got that. I meant the part where you worked that fully grown man to the ground so effortlessly."

"What do you mean? You've practically answered your own question." He sighed and sat down on the nearest bench.

"But I get what you mean. I've had martial arts training when I was younger. Is that a good enough answer?" He nodded, then started laughing.

"You really are the most ungirly girl I've ever met."

"I'll take that as a compliment, then." I said as I laughed along.

"It is. It proves just how special you are." I frowned at that.

"Special? You said that before, but I don't get it." He stood and walked past me.

"It's a secret."

* * *

He dropped me off and excused himself, saying we'd talk again soon.

"Ikki," I interrupted just as he turned to walk away, "thanks again, for today. I had a really good time." He nodded and smiled.

"Anytime." With that, he took off. Once inside, I fell down onto the couch and let out a deep breath. He was still a bit peculiar and I wasn't sure about how to deal with the threats his fan club had thrown at me, but I was sure about the fact that he was a nice guy.


	4. Because something smells fire

I woke up to my ringtone and jumped up, frantically searching for the thing before coming to the conclusion that it was just in my pocket. I quickly got it out and answered it.

"Alice speaking." There was just breathing on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" I hoped for someone familiar to answer.

"Hello, "Aylee." I recognized Ikki's voice and rolled my eyes.

"You sound… weird."

"Nononono, I don't."

"Yeah you do." I'd heard an accent like this often enough when Waka had had a few too many drinks, that man can't hold his liquor at all.

"Do not."

"Are you drunk?"

"Wha? That's prepost- prepo- that." I sighed.

"Why did you call?"

"I think… I think because something smells fire."

"What? "Something smells fire'? Don't tell me you set something on fire."

"Dunno, light coming fro the kitchen."

"Tell me your address, quickly." He muttered his address after which I heard a loud bash. I figured it was either him dropping his phone, or dropping himself. Either way, I hung up, grabbed my coat and rushed out the front door.

* * *

I knocked on the door, hoping he'd given me the right address.

"Ikki, you there?" I couldn't see any fiery light by looking through the small peekhole, but that didn't mean anything. I got no reply.

"Ikki, come on, don't make me break down the door." I threatened. Within seconds the knob turned and the door opened. He was slumped against the wall, a sheepish smile on his face.

"'Aylee!" He yelled as he reached out his arms and practically fell forward. I caught him and pushed him back up as I stepped inside. He reeked of alcohol, I guessed rum, but I couldn't be sure.

"Where's the kitchen? Is there a fire?" I asked as I positioned him against the wall, closed the door and ran to check out said place. Upon entering, however, I found a perfectly clean kitchen.

"Fire? Where'd ya ge tha idea?" He wobbled to his bed and fell down.

"You said… Oh never mind." I knew I should never trust drunk people. I looked around his apartment, it was simplistic, basic, but somehow very cosy.

"I'm lonelyy, come onn to bed!" He said loudly. I turned to find him lying on the bed, the sheets were haphazardly scattered on and besides the bed from his thrashing about. I stood in front of him and sighed.

"You're hopeless, do you know that?" I sat down on the bed beside him and watched as he clutched onto my sleeve.

"I don't mean to be… I just want people to like me." He sounded surprisingly clear all of a sudden.

"Loads of people like you, obviously."

"Not the right people…" He sulked as he looked up at me. "I need you to like me."

"Me? I do like you, you're a good guy." I comforted him with a smile. It was very likely that he wouldn't remember any of this anyway.

"I don't want to be alone…" He muttered.

"I'm here, aren't I? You're not alone." He nodded and without any notice, latched onto me, pulling me down onto the bed.

"Hey! Wait, I-"

"Sleep with me." He whispered in my ear. I shuddered and shook my head.

"That's not going to happen."

* * *

It happened. In the end, not even I could break free from his vice grip and I was forced to stay like that for the entire night. In the end I did fall asleep, only to wake up in the exact same position. I yawned and stretched out, careful not to elbow Ikki in the face in doing so. His arms still had me in a death grip and I still couldn't get out. Morning light was peeking through the crack between the curtains, I guessed it was about 10 o'clock.

"Ikki?" I asked as I tapped his arm. "Could you wake up, please?" I heard low growls from behind me. Before I could suppress it, I burst out into a coughing fit. It must"Ve scared him awake, because he practically launched me off the bed. The coughing only continued and I felt my lungs burning in my chest, along with my belly in the lower regions. When it finally died down, I was panting like a hound that'd just chased a fox.

"Alice?" Ikki's voice was rough, he was probably very hung over. I sat back on the bed and let out a deep breath.

"I have no idea what happened, but… were you in bed… with me?" He sounded anxious.

"You called me last night-" I let out another cough to clear my throat. "And you practically said your kitchen was on fire. I came to look, but there was nothing wrong. At one point, you latched onto me and you refused to let go. So yeah, sort of." I explained. He was staring at me with his eyes wide open and his mouth gaping.

"I'm so sorry." He bowed in apology. I waved his guilt away.

"Don't worry about it. I have quite some experience with stuff like this." Waka had done the same thing a surprising amount of times. He looked up at me and frowned.

"You don't look well." He commented as he reached out and laid a hand on my forehead. "You're burning up."

"I think there was a draft from somewhere." I stood up. "Nothing to worry about though."

"No, I'm not letting you outside with a fever like that." He stood as well and blocked my way.

"Come on, it's noth-" I burst out into another coughing fit and reached out to the wall for support as I held the other in front of my mouth.

"You're obviously not fine." He said as he took my arm and steered me to the bed.

* * *

I didn't have enough strength left to object and I was in the bed before I knew it.

"I'll make some tea. That should make your throat less sore." He said as he went into the kitchen and put on some water. He'd recovered from that hangover miraculously fast.

"I'm not sick." I squeaked, sneezing immediately afterwards.

"Of course not."

* * *

He came back with a warm cup of tea a few minutes later. I sat up and sniffled.

"Here." He handed me the cup and smiled as I took a sip. The flavor was so soft that it was like silk to my throat.

"Is the flavor okay? Not too hot either?" He asked worried.

"It's perfect." I smiled contently as I took another sip.

"That's good." He paused, looking away for a moment. "I'm sorry. It's my fault that you're ill now."

"It's probably just a cold. I was developing one already." That wasn't true though, I was perfectly healthy. He grimaced.

"Honestly, I'm fine." I took another sip and cursed in my mind when I felt it go down the wrong pipe, sending me right into another coughing fit. He quickly took the cup from me before I got the chance to spill all its contents onto the bed and myself.

* * *

When that one was over as well after a few minutes, I let out a tired sigh. All that coughing was really tiring.

"Clearly not though."

"Alright, I suppose not." He handed me the cup again and watched as I drank it as carefully as I possibly could.

"You should take some cough mixture. Maybe you'll be able to get some rest then." He said as he stood and took the cup back to the kitchen, coming back with a spoon and a small bottle in his hands. I pulled the sheets up so they covered my mouth.

"No, that's gross." He sat back down and looked at the bottle.

"I think it's strawberry flavored." I eyed him suspiciously. "You'll only benefit from it after taking it."

"I don't wanna." I shook my head. He sighed and poured some of it onto the spoon.

"I'll go first, okay?" I sat up, staring intently so that I could see if it tasted good or bad. He put the spoon in his mouth and smiled before lunging at me. He grabbed my head and tilted it backwards as he pressed his lips onto mine. I felt the liquid pouring in and struggled against him, but I was in no condition to and was soon forced to give up. He finally broke away once I'd swallowed it.

"That was unnecessary." I snapped as I wiped my mouth. He licked his lips and grinned.

"I beg to differ. Why? Was it that bad?" It didn't taste great, but it wasn't like it was that repulsive either.

"No…" I admitted.

"Exactly, now try to get some rest." He stood and sat at his desk, turning on his laptop.

"Mhmm." I yawned as I lay down and closed my eyes, pulling the covers up to my chin.


	5. What a polite fellow

I woke to the lovely smell of dinner being cooked and sat up, rubbing my eyes in an attempt to get a clear look at what was in the making.

"You slept all day." Ikki said once he noticed I was up. "You must be starving." My stomach growled as a confirmation.

"I hope I've not kept you from your work or anything."

"I didn't have to work today and I spent most of my time working on my report, so you did no such thing." I got out of the bed and sat down at the table.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he put a plate down in front of me, going back to get his own.

"A whole lot better, actually." On the plate were two eggs and some bacon. I had no idea something so simple could smell so amazing.

"Good to hear that." He reached over the table and laid his hand on my forehead again. "Your fever"S gone down considerably as well." He sat back and started his meal. Just as I wanted to do the same, my ringtone resounded through the room.

"I'm sorry." I said as I took it out and looked at the caller ID, surprised when it said my home number was calling. I answered it, hoping it wasn't the fire department with the message that the house had burnt to the ground.

"Alice speaking."

"Alice, we're back!" My eyes widened as I recognized my mom's voice.

"Already?"

"We were gone for four months, honey, don't sound so disappointed."

"Right, four months." I rubbed my head, I'd almost forgotten about them. "I'm not disappointed, of course not, it's just a bit of a surprise."

"I understand, sweetie. Where are you anyway?"

"Where am I?" I looked up at Ikki, he was looked at me with great interest. "I'm at a friend's."

"At Cass' place?" I could tell from her voice that she was multitasking.

"No, a new friend. You don't know him." I held a hand over my mouth just as that last word popped out.

"Did you say "Him'?" My parents were against going over to boys' houses, it was the number one rule.

"I… uh… I said "Em. You don't know "Em. Multiple people, you know."

"You know your dad can track your phone, right? Don't lie to me, honey." I shuddered. The calm and kind manner in which she said it made it all the more scary.

"It doesn't matter, I'm leaving soon anyway." I quickly said.

"Alright, see you in a bit, sweetie!" With that she hung up. I let out a deep breath and quickly took a bite of the food, cheering slightly when finding that it was still hot.

"What was that about?"

"Apparently my parents just came home from their travels."

"And why did you lie?"

"If they knew I was at a guy's house my dad would track my phone and come busting in just like that." He blinked a few times.

"Alright, I'll walk you home after you've finished."

* * *

"Are you sure you're not cold?" He asked again as we walked onto the street.

"I'm sure, I now have two vests and a coat on, I'm not going to be cold anytime soon. Thanks for letting me borrow those, by the way."

"No problem. Can't risk you getting worse again, right?"

"Right. Have to get healthy again as soon as possible." We walked in silence for a few minutes, our arms brushing past eachother occasionally in the cold night air.

"Summer break is almost over, isn't it?" He said as he looked up at the stars.

"Suppose it is. I don't really look forward to going back to school though."

"Why not?" I shrugged.

"It's not that I don't like school, I don't mind that at all. Just the people there…"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not the most popular person there, let's just keep it at that. Well, I'll be going into my last year anyway. Then it's off to Uni for me."

"You're not being bullied, are you?"

"No. The contrary. People are scared to even talk to me because everyone knows what my dad used to do for a living. Some ugly rumors are going around about him already, so that's not helping either."

"I bet you're dad's a great guy. And if you ever need anyone to talk to, just give me a call."

"Thanks. Right back at you, even drunken calls are fine." We both laughed before realizing that we were already practically standing in front of my house.

"Well, that went faster than I thought it would." I murmured as I frowned and looked around, making sure this wasn't just some trick someone was playing on me. I knew this for sure when the door opened and both my parents came out.

"Hey, guys." I said as I walked up to them and gave them a hug. "Welcome home." They both looked at Ikki behind me and turned to me, accusing looks on their faces.

"This is Ikki." I said as I walked back, grabbed his arm and pulled him along. "He's the new friend I was talking about."

"Nice to meet you." He said as he took a small bow.

"Was she with you all day?" My mom asked me, gesturing at me to be silent when I wanted to answer for him.

"Yes and I hope you'll forgive me for asking her over if that's against your rules." Both of them blinked at how polite he was.

"That's alright. If nothing happened, then it's fine."

"She did get a cold, though, please make sure she gets plenty of rest." He turned to me. "And take some more of the cough mixture before you go to bed." I nodded.

"Well then, it was an absolute pleasure meeting you. If you'll excuse me." After another bow, he was already on his way back.

* * *

"What a polite fellow." My dad said as he nodded in approval.

"And handsome." My mom chimed in.

"And he got you to drink cough mixture?" I shrugged.

"He wasn't very subtle about it."

"Well, either way, he performed a miracle."

"Hardly." I murmured.

"But I think we should heed that boy's advice and send you off to bed early." I nodded and took my coat off, walking up the stairs and into my room. "Don't forget the cough mixture!" They yelled after me.

"Got it!" I yelled back as I took the vests off and put them on my bed before sitting down as well. I did feel a lot better than before, but I still didn't feel completely fine. Before bed, I ended up taking a spoonful of the cough mixture he'd borrowed me, it tasted a lot less good than before.

* * *

I woke the next day to a text from Ikki.

_And? Did I invoke your father"S wrath yet?_

_Anyway, I wanted to thank you for rushing to my apartment when my drunken self had summoned you. Meet me at the park at 14:00, I have a gift for you._

_Ikki_

I frowned at the last sentence and wondered what the gift could possibly be. I checked the clock, it was 12:00, giving me plenty of time to get ready and make the trip.

"Where are you going?" Mom asked as soon as I laid a hand on my coat.

"The park?"

"Are you feeling okay? How's that cold?"

"Nonsense! The girl's fine. She's not a wuss or something." Dad said, his mouth pretty much full with rice.

"Of course not. Well, don't stay out too late."

"I won't." I smiled as I put on my coat and made my way out.

* * *

As I turned the corner onto another street, I was jumped and smacked to the ground.

"You slept with him!" A female voice yelled frantically.

"Did not!" I said as I stood up and took a good look at my attackers. The three girls who"D accompanied the fancy one with her nightly visit.

"We saw you entering his apartment in the evening and then leave next evening." Another supplied the eye witness report.

"So? He called me, I slept over and then left the next evening. Nothing happened or anything."

"I find it hard to believe that." The last one said.

"Then don't believe it." I felt a sting in my knee and looked down, seeing a hole in the fabric of my pants and a bloody knee. "And thanks for that. Now, if you excuse me." I wanted to walk on, but one of them stopped me.

"Oh? Are you sure you want to do that?" She immediately pulled her arm back and seemed unsure for a moment, but then pointed a finger at me.

"You better not get too close for him. We've already made plans involving the bad things. Don't make us have to put those into action." I laughed.

"I'd love to see you try."

* * *

"Hey." I sat down beside him on the small park bench and shifted uncomfortably at the cold surface under me.

"How's the cold?"

"Good, haven't coughed since the first time I took that cough mixture."

"Since you _took_?"

"Whatever that was called then." He grinned and turned to me.

"As I said, I have a present for you." He took a small box out of his jacket pocket, there was a big bow on top. He handed it to me and smiled, his eyes were practically sparkling.

"What did I do to earn this?"

"It's a little something to apologize for making you come over and then sort of forcing you to sleep with me." I pulled up a brow before letting out a little laugh.

"That sounded really weird, but thanks." I carefully took the lid off and stared at the contents of the box, not sure what to do.

"This is…"

"Don't you like it?" He asked worried.

"No, no, that's not it, not at all." I quickly said. "It just looks kind of expensive."

"Nonsense. Here, try it on." He took the bracelet out of the box and tied it around my wrist, the bells on it jingled a merry tune. "With these bells I'll always be able to find you." I held it up and looked at it more closely. There were at least ten tiny silver bells on the silver bracelet, they all shone brightly in the sunlight.

"Thanks so much, I don't know what to say."

"As I said, it's just a small apology. Nothing major." I gave him a hug.

"You're forgiven."

"That's a relief." He let go and looked me up and down, frowning upon seeing my knee.

"What happened?"

"Oh, that. I fell on the way here, tripped over something. I'll fix it when I get home." He sighed and shook his head.

"You're such a cluts sometimes." I raised my shoulders.

"That's not my fault. Do you have to work today?"

"I do, I'm heading to the café after this. Why?"

"I'm taking my parents to visit. They're going to be so surprised when they see Waka again." He stood and smiled at me.

"Then I'll see you soon." I stood as well and nodded.

"Yeah, see you soon." Just as he walked past, he leaned forward and gently kissed my cheek.

"I'll be looking forward to serving you."

* * *

After standing around for another three minutes, I slowly made my way back home to pick up my parents.

* * *

"I have a surprise for you two." I said as I smiled mischievously.

"Really? What is it?" Mom asked instantly.

"It won't be a surprise if I tell you. You'll see soon enough. But you'll have to get your coats, we're going for a short walk first." They did as I asked and within minutes we were all out the front door and onto the sidewalk.

"What happened to your knee?" Mom asked.

"Tripped and fell, just a scratch. I'll fix the jeans later." My dad nodded proudly at my short explanation. Even though I did it unconsciously, I was doing what my father had taught me, explaining in short but clear sentences.

* * *

"Alright, this is it. Go in through the front door, I have to handle something over here." I hurried down the stairs and sighed relieved to find Waka in his office and not in the cafe itself. I knocked and patiently waited for permission to enter.

"Who is it?"

"Alice."

"Come in then, no need to knock." I opened the door and laughed.

"It would be rude not to knock."

"Not for you, don't worry." His smile turned to a frown. "Did something happen?"

"No, I just got a little surprise when mom and dad showed up yesterday."

"They're back?" I nodded.

"I took them over to visit. You can come greet them if you want." He was up to his feet and at the door before my brain could even process it.

"Of course I'll greet them."

* * *

He went out into the cafe and smiled when he saw my parents at the table, studying the menu. He walked up to the table and halted there, neither of them looked up.

"Have you decided?" They both looked up. My mom's mouth fell open and my dad's eyes widened so much that I thought they might pop out of their sockets.

"Surprise." I chimed as I stood beside Waka. They looked at me and then back to Waka.

"That's-" My mom was cut off when my dad jumped up.

"Waka!" He yelled as he took his long lost son into a bear hug.

"Hey, dad." Waka said as he smiled and hugged back. My mom quickly followed her husband"S example and they all stood there for a while, locked in a silent hug.

"Well, this is a sight to see." Ikki muttered as he stood beside me. I nodded.

"For me too. They're never this affectionate towards anyone."

"Don't they hug you?" I shrugged.

"Not since I was five. All the hugging came from Waka. Then he left, so no, guess not." I saw it coming, but accepted it with a smile. His hug was something I would gladly accept anyway.

"If you want a hug, just ask and I'll give you one." I heard some annoyed sounds coming from the back of the café and looked up, finding the group of three girls there, glaring at me.

"Thanks." I said as I patted his arm. He let go and smiled.

"Anytime." It seemed that Waka had sat down next to my parents. They were wildly discussing the fact that he'd left without a word all those years ago.

"Come along." He took my arm and pulled me along to the bar. I took a seat on one of the stools and watched as he went to the other side.

"What can I get you, milady?"

"A smoothie? Is that okay?" He took a small bow.

"Of course, coming right up, milady."

"Come on, you don't have to call me that." It made me feel so much older than I actually was.

"It's protocol. If I don't, Waka'll have my head."

"He won't, trust me." He leaned on the bar, one hand holding up his chin.

"Maybe he's not the reason." I felt my face flush. "Maybe I like calling you that," he paused and leaned closer, "milady."

* * *

The smoothie tasted great, but Ikki wouldn't stop bugging me throughout my enjoying the drink. As he walked past, he would subtly brush past me, barely touching, but enough so that I felt it. He grinned contently every time I shivered. When my parents and the three girls were the only customers, Ikki leaned on the bar and stared at me.

"What?" I asked finally.

"Nothing." The small mischievous smile said the exact opposite. "Just thinking you must be really glad that your parents are back home." I unconsciously looked at my parents over my shoulders, their discussion, which had now shifted to their vacation, seemed endless. I looked back at him and shrugged.

"They'll probably be gone again next week." He blinked.

"They're not staying?"

"I doubt it. If there's not really any reason to stay then they won't." He looked at me, dumbfounded.

"Aren't you reason enough to stay? You're their daughter." My parents had never been very controlling over me. We had strict rules which I usually followed and sometimes broke, but that was it.

"I guess you could say I have a business contract with them. I don't screw up, they don't mind me. Easy as that."

"But that's kind of... Cold."

"You think so?" He nodded and pushed himself up slightly as he smiled.

"Want to come over to my place for the night?" He changed the subject. I could hear surprised gasps and angry whispers from the corner.

"Sure. Do you have an Xbox, or playstation or anything?"

"No..."

"Okay, I'll bring mine then." The only concept I had of sleepovers was gaming, loads of gaming, nothing more and nothing less.


	6. I made a wish

I don't even think my parents had noticed me leave, even though I had a very noisy bag with games and consoles with me.

The door opened almost immediately after I knocked. Ikki had a broad smile on his face.

"Come on in." He said as he stepped aside. I came in and put the bag down, tapping my sore shoulder a few times.

"You won't drink tonight, will you?"

"Socially. Not with the intention of getting drunk like last time." He said with a sheepish grin as he closed the door.

"Then it's alright." I picked the bag back up and put it down on the table. "What do you want to start with? I brought all sorts of genres, because I don't really know what you're into."

"Me neither. I'm not really much of a gamer." I looked at him in surprise.

"Then what do you normally do at sleepovers?"

"Watch tv, sit around, eat stuff." I nodded understandingly.

"I brought some movies as well." He laughed.

"Ever so prepared."

"Of course. It's my first sleepover in years, I figured I'd bring a little of everything." His eyes widened slightly.

"You've slept over at a guy's place before?"

* * *

"No- Well, last time with you, but I don't think that counts. Are the rules different when it's with a guy?" He burst out in laughter. I frowned, not knowing what I'd done wrong.  
"Rules? You really think sleepovers have rules?" I nodded ignorantly.  
"Well, not my sleepovers. Only having fun is allowed, no rules."  
"Really? So, want to watch a movie?" I suggested, he smiled and nodded.  
"Just as long as it's not some horror thing." I pouted.  
"But those are the best!"

* * *

We ended up watching the Avengers first, then the Hobbit and Les Miserables afterwards, leaving me bawling over the countless deaths in the last one.  
"Aw, come on, it's not like they're re-"  
"_Say_ 'real' _and I_ _will murder you very violently_." I hissed.  
"Okay, you're giving me no other choice." He put his arm around me and pulled me into a hug.  
"What are you-"  
"Look, they're all happily singing on the barricade in heaven." Another river of tears flowed down my cheeks.  
"Oh, I meant, uh, want some crisps?" I nodded and watched as he let me go, petted my head and headed into the kitchen to get said snack.  
"You're really passionate about this stuff, aren't you?"  
"Yeah, it's not like I have a other stuff to do."  
"You mean you don't do anything besides watch movies and play games?"  
"Also tv shows." I added.  
"But you were out with your friend the first time I met you." He came back and put the bowl of crisps in front of me.  
"We came straight out of school and I said I'd treat her, it wasn't anything special."  
"Well, I'm immensely grateful to her, otherwise I'd never have met you."  
"That's slightly mean considering you turned her down." He recoiled slightly, then nodded.  
"This will probably sound weird, but I'm sort of used to getting asked out and stuff like that."  
"Really? I can't really see why."  
"Oh, that's cruel." He laughed. "But," he paused, took a deep breath and continued, "there's a story I have to tell you."  
"Sure. Go ahead." I said as I took the bowl into my lap.  
"When I was a little boy, I once looked up at the moon and I saw a shooting star. Needless to say I made a wish. I wished for quite a silly thing… I wished that girls would like and fall for me. That wish came true and girls started acting differently towards me, they seemed infatuated from the first time they laid eyes on me. More and more girls started liking me and they even made that fan club. But… having so many girls fall for me at first glance kind of prohibited me from getting to know anyone well. I mean, they didn't know me, but they still wanted to go out with me. I thought that was fine at first, but then I realized that it wasn't supposed to go like that."  
"That's why you said I interested you." I realized.  
"Right, because it didn't work on you."  
"I see. That's a tough predicament you're in."  
"What? You're not even questioning it?" I shook my head.  
"I was kind of baffled when Cass said she wanted to confess to you even though she'd just met you, because that was totally unlike her. You have an entire horde of girls following you around. Combine that with the fact that I believe in the existance magic, that's a pretty plausible story to me." He laughed.  
"You're weird." He said.  
"Coming from a real life women magnet, I won't take that very seriously."  
"Point taken."  
"Still, have you ever tried to do anything about it?"  
"Like what? It's not like they can be reasoned with. The only thing I can do is wear sunglasses in public, but that doesn't always work either."  
"You know what? I have an idea."  
"What is it?"  
"It's a secret. I'll send you a text when it's time."  
"Who"S putting up a mysterious act now, huh?" I snickered.  
"Well, who says your fans haven"T bugged your appartment yet?" He looked around, raised his shoulders and nodded.  
"Understood."  
"Well, it's about time we get on with the games."

* * *

After gaming for the biggest part of the night, I ended up falling asleep in the middle of one. Having my parents around the house again was tiring to say the least, as they had pretty much forgotten what a normal house life was like. When I woke I found myself on the bed with the covers up to my chin. I was the only one in it and I looked around for Ikki, this was his bed after all. I found him on the ground beside the bed, sleeping soundly. I peered over the edge at him and smiled to myself. He really was a nice guy, despite everything I had said about him before. There was honestly no denying it.  
"Awake already?" I was snapped out of my thoughts and found him staring back up at me.  
"Ah, yeah, aren't you really cold down there?" He stretched his arms, I could hear them creaking.  
"Only a little. Why? Are you inviting me in?" I blushed and looked away.  
"Well, it's your bed, I mean… y'know." I scooted and he quickly got under the covers.  
"Thanks." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "And good morning." This is what I'd always dreamed of when I was a little girl, waking up beside a nice guy who then kissed me good morning and smiled at me. This was exactly that and for a moment I felt so terribly lost that I contemplated jumping out of the bed and running out the front door. I didn't, of course, because it was still really early and the bed was nice and warm, but still.  
"Good morning yourself."  
"Slept okay?"  
"A lot better than last time." I grinned.  
"Yeah, that's probably not surprising."  
"Sorry for making you put me here." I apologized.  
"You didn't make me, it was my own decision."  
"Still, you know what I mean."  
"I do and it's no problem. Wouldn't want you catching a cold again, would we?" My phone, which had magically transported to the nightstand, rang its oh so familiar ringtone.  
"Crap, that's my parents." I said as I sat up and quickly answered it.  
"Hey."  
"Alice, where are you?" It was my mom.  
"I went to the shop."  
"Oh okay, when will you be back?"  
"Uh, soon, I've almost finished."  
"Okay, we've found the next destination, so we want you to see us off."  
"Got it, I'll be there soon."  
"See you in a bit, sweetie."

* * *

"The shop?" Ikki asked, his judging eyes on me.  
"I can hardly say I'm in bed with a guy, can I?"  
"Well, it is the truth." He grinned mischievously.  
"They've found their next destination, so they'll be leaving again in a bit. They wanted me to see them off."  
"Can I come?"  
"Sure, I'll just have to go by the shop quickly to buy something."  
"I'll take you there. We'll be there in no time at all."  
"You have a driver"S license?"

* * *

"I have a cycling license." He said proudly as he gestured at the old, beaten up bicycle.  
"You don't really need a license for that, but regardless of that, it's still transport and it sure beats walking. Thanks." He got on and smiled.  
"Hop on, milady."  
"You're not even at work now." I pouted.  
"Seeing you so flustered just makes me really happy." I rolled my eyes, got on and held onto him as he took off.  
I don't even think my parents had noticed me leave, even though I had a very noisy bag with games and consoles with me.

The door opened almost immediately after I knocked. Ikki had a broad smile on his face.

"Come on in." He said as he stepped aside. I came in and put the bag down, tapping my sore shoulder a few times.

"You won't drink tonight, will you?"

"Socially. Not with the intention of getting drunk like last time." He said with a sheepish grin as he closed the door.

"Then it's alright." I picked the bag back up and put it down on the table. "What do you want to start with? I brought all sorts of genres, because I don't really know what you're into."

"Me neither. I'm not really much of a gamer." I looked at him in surprise.

"Then what do you normally do at sleepovers?"

"Watch tv, sit around, eat stuff." I nodded understandingly.

"I brought some movies as well." He laughed.

"Ever so prepared."

"Of course. It's my first sleepover in years, I figured I'd bring a little of everything." His eyes widened slightly.

"You've slept over at a guy's place before?"

"No- Well, last time with you, but I don't think that counts. Are the rules different when it's with a guy?" He burst out in laughter. I frowned, not knowing what I'd done wrong.  
"Rules? You really think sleepovers have rules?" I nodded ignorantly.  
"Well, not my sleepovers. Only having fun is allowed, no rules."  
"Really? So, want to watch a movie?" I suggested, he smiled and nodded.  
"Just as long as it's not some horror thing." I pouted.  
"But those are the best!"

* * *

We ended up watching the Avengers first, then the Hobbit and Les Miserables afterwards, leaving me bawling over the countless deaths in the last one.  
"Aw, come on, it's not like they're re-"  
"_Say_ 'real' _and I_ _will murder you very violently_." I hissed.  
"Okay, you're giving me no other choice." He put his arm around me and pulled me into a hug.  
"What are you-"  
"Look, they're all happily singing on the barricade in heaven." Another river of tears flowed down my cheeks.  
"Oh, I meant, uh, want some crisps?" I nodded and watched as he let me go, petted my head and headed into the kitchen to get said snack.  
"You're really passionate about this stuff, aren't you?"  
"Yeah, it's not like I have a other stuff to do."  
"You mean you don't do anything besides watch movies and play games?"  
"Also tv shows." I added.  
"But you were out with your friend the first time I met you." He came back and put the bowl of crisps in front of me.  
"We came straight out of school and I said I'd treat her, it wasn't anything special."  
"Well, I'm immensely grateful to her, otherwise I'd never have met you."  
"That's slightly mean considering you turned her down." He recoiled slightly, then nodded.  
"This will probably sound weird, but I'm sort of used to getting asked out and stuff like that."  
"Really? I can't really see why."  
"Oh, that's cruel." He laughed. "But," he paused, took a deep breath and continued, "there's a story I have to tell you."  
"Sure. Go ahead." I said as I took the bowl into my lap.  
"When I was a little boy, I once looked up at the moon and I saw a shooting star. Needless to say I made a wish. I wished for quite a silly thing… I wished that girls would like and fall for me. That wish came true and girls started acting differently towards me, they seemed infatuated from the first time they laid eyes on me. More and more girls started liking me and they even made that fan club. But… having so many girls fall for me at first glance kind of prohibited me from getting to know anyone well. I mean, they didn't know me, but they still wanted to go out with me. I thought that was fine at first, but then I realized that it wasn't supposed to go like that."  
"That's why you said I interested you." I realized.  
"Right, because it didn't work on you."  
"I see. That's a tough predicament you're in."  
"What? You're not even questioning it?" I shook my head.  
"I was kind of baffled when Cass said she wanted to confess to you even though she'd just met you, because that was totally unlike her. You have an entire horde of girls following you around. Combine that with the fact that I believe in the existance magic, that's a pretty plausible story to me." He laughed.  
"You're weird." He said.  
"Coming from a real life women magnet, I won't take that very seriously."  
"Point taken."  
"Still, have you ever tried to do anything about it?"  
"Like what? It's not like they can be reasoned with. The only thing I can do is wear sunglasses in public, but that doesn't always work either."  
"You know what? I have an idea."  
"What is it?"  
"It's a secret. I'll send you a text when it's time."  
"Who"S putting up a mysterious act now, huh?" I snickered.  
"Well, who says your fans haven"T bugged your appartment yet?" He looked around, raised his shoulders and nodded.  
"Understood."  
"Well, it's about time we get on with the games."

* * *

After gaming for the biggest part of the night, I ended up falling asleep in the middle of one. Having my parents around the house again was tiring to say the least, as they had pretty much forgotten what a normal house life was like. When I woke I found myself on the bed with the covers up to my chin. I was the only one in it and I looked around for Ikki, this was his bed after all. I found him on the ground beside the bed, sleeping soundly. I peered over the edge at him and smiled to myself. He really was a nice guy, despite everything I had said about him before. There was honestly no denying it.  
"Awake already?" I was snapped out of my thoughts and found him staring back up at me.  
"Ah, yeah, aren't you really cold down there?" He stretched his arms, I could hear them creaking.  
"Only a little. Why? Are you inviting me in?" I blushed and looked away.  
"Well, it's your bed, I mean… y'know." I scooted and he quickly got under the covers.  
"Thanks." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "And good morning." This is what I'd always dreamed of when I was a little girl, waking up beside a nice guy who then kissed me good morning and smiled at me. This was exactly that and for a moment I felt so terribly lost that I contemplated jumping out of the bed and running out the front door. I didn't, of course, because it was still really early and the bed was nice and warm, but still.  
"Good morning yourself."  
"Slept okay?"  
"A lot better than last time." I grinned.  
"Yeah, that's probably not surprising."  
"Sorry for making you put me here." I apologized.  
"You didn't make me, it was my own decision."  
"Still, you know what I mean."  
"I do and it's no problem. Wouldn't want you catching a cold again, would we?" My phone, which had magically transported to the nightstand, rang its oh so familiar ringtone.  
"Crap, that's my parents." I said as I sat up and quickly answered it.  
"Hey."  
"Alice, where are you?" It was my mom.  
"I went to the shop."  
"Oh okay, when will you be back?"  
"Uh, soon, I've almost finished."  
"Okay, we've found the next destination, so we want you to see us off."  
"Got it, I'll be there soon."  
"See you in a bit, sweetie."

* * *

"The shop?" Ikki asked, his judging eyes on me.  
"I can hardly say I'm in bed with a guy, can I?"  
"Well, it is the truth." He grinned mischievously.  
"They've found their next destination, so they'll be leaving again in a bit. They wanted me to see them off."  
"Can I come?"  
"Sure, I'll just have to go by the shop quickly to buy something."  
"I'll take you there. We'll be there in no time at all."  
"You have a driver's license?"

* * *

"I have a cycling license." He said proudly as he gestured at the old, beaten up bicycle.  
"You don't really need a license for that, but regardless of that, it's still transport and it sure beats walking. Thanks." He got on and smiled.  
"Hop on, milady."  
"You're not even at work now." I pouted.  
"Seeing you so flustered just makes me really happy." I rolled my eyes, got on and held onto him as he took off.


	7. What's the surprise?

"Oh, hello again, boy." My dad said as he opened the door.  
"Hello to you too, sir." Ikki said as he smiled. The fact that my dad liked him still surprised me.  
"Yeah, I ran into him at the shop." I held up the bag and realized that I'd left my consoles, games and movies at Ikki's.  
"Well, come in. Don't dawdle." Dad said as he stepped to the side, allowing us in.  
"So, where to next then?" I asked my mom. She had just set the last bag on top of the stack in the hall.  
"We were thinking of Iceland, to admire the geysers."  
"Oh, that's beautiful." Ikki said.  
"Hello again, Ikki, was it?" My mom said, noticing him only now.  
"Yes indeed, m'am."  
"Well, I agree with him. From what I've seen on tv, it's beautiful."  
"You know, Alice, you can come too if you want." Dad said as he stood beside my mom. This was rare. They usually just went by themselves without dragging me into it.  
"That's quite alright, I'll just stay here and guard the house."  
"Told you she didn't want to." My dad said to my mom, walking over to me and patting my shoulder. "She's the world's greatest watch dog. A rottweiler doesn't compare." He was proud, but it sounded slightly degrading.  
"Thanks, dad."  
"Well then, looks like the cab's arrived." Mom said as she looked out the window. "Be safe, sweetie, don't set the house on fire."  
"I won't, mom. Have fun you two."

* * *

Before I knew it, they'd gotten into the cab and had driven off to their next adventure.  
"You're more like a watch puppy if you ask me." Ikki said as he petted my head.  
"I'm much more dangerous than a puppy, you know."  
"I know." We stood on the pavement for a moment, silent, before I turned around and started walking back.  
"Why didn't you go too? I mean, it's not every day you get an opportunity like that." Ikki said as he closed the door behind him.  
"I think you're forgetting the fact that I have to go to school again soon."  
"That's not it. You could care less about school." I turned to him in surprise, that was kind of blunt of him, not that it was untrue.  
"Things are fine the way they are now. I don't really need a change of scenery that badly." I paused and smiled. "Plus, I still have to help you with your situation, don't I?" His eyes widened in surprise. He practically dashed forward and embraced me, kissing me fiercely. I couldn't do anything but comply, my body nor my mind would allow me to do anything else and it's not as if I really wanted to anyway.  
"Thank you so much."  
"You're very welcome."

* * *

I woke up to a text early the next morning.

_You forgot your things here, I'll bring them by today ;)_

I smiled, then sighed.  
"Now I have to get dressed…" After I'd dragged myself out of bed, I turned on the water heater and went out to get the mail. When I opened the mailbox, however, mail wasn't the only thing I found. There was a trash mixture in it that smelt so horrific I had to step back in order not the throw up. I cursed a few times, extracted my mail from the mess and went back in to get some cleaning supplies.  
"What happened here?" I came back out to find Ikki quizically looking at the mess in my mailbox.  
"Vandals. You know, scum of the streets. Lowlives. The worst of the worst." I had a feeling they were right there listening, so I wasn't going to hold back. Ikki, pretending to be clueless, eyed me curiously.  
"Let me help."

* * *

After helping me clean up the mess, we were sitting in front of the tv with tea in our hands to warm ourselves back up. It'd gotten eerily cold outside.  
"Do you get that more often? You didn't seem very impressed." Ikki asked slightly worried.  
"It's the first time, but I may have gotten on the wrong side of some people, so I don't doubt it will happen again." I lazily stretched my legs and yawned.  
"Will you be okay though?"  
"Do you even need to ask that? You've seen what I'm capable of."  
"But still…"  
"Look, you don't need to worry about it. I'll be perfectly fine." I stood up, put my cup on the table and quickly checked my laptop. "Are you free tonight?" He seemed surprised by my question, but nodded.  
"Yeah, why?"  
"It's time to put my plan into action."  
"And I still can't know what it is?" I shook my head.  
"Still a surprise." He drank the last bit of his tea and stood up.  
"I should get going. Can't afford to be late for work."  
"Sure, thanks for bringing my stuff."  
"No problem and thank you for the tea." He gave me a hug, got his coat and bag, and left for the café.

* * *

I texted him with the details of the surprise location later that day and went there myself. I'd seen it in an advertisement on a website, it would be the perfect setting to help Ikki with his troubles.  
"I've been here before." Ikki said as he looked around.  
"Well that's also a way to greet someone." I grinned. He laughed and nodded, smiling.  
"Hello, Alice." I blushed and averted my eyes.  
"Yeah, hi to you too." I halted at a cliff and leaned on the fence, staring up at the night sky.  
"So, what's the surprise, actually?" Ikki asked.  
"You're going to counter-wish your wish." He pulled up a brow at me, so I explained.  
"You said you didn't want all the attention anymore, right?" He nodded.  
"So I figured, why not come up here, wait for a falling star and just make a counter wish."  
"That actually sounds quite logical, I can't believe I hadn't thought of that…"  
"Well, good for you that you know someone as brilliant as me." The sarcasm was very well audible, but he nodded.  
"Exceptionally good for me."

* * *

We sat down and patiently waited for the meteor shower to begin.  
"It's starting." Ikki noted upon seeing the first.  
"But falling stars are pretty rare. This is just space debris hitting earth"S atmosphere."  
"Let's just pretend they're stars." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Time for a wish." We sat in silence as he made his wish and I couldn't resist the urge to make one myself.

* * *

"I wonder if that'll work." I said as he turned to me.  
"I think it will." He put his arm around me and pulled me closer. "Don't be so sceptical."

* * *

After a while, he stood up and stretched out.  
"I'll go get us something to drink. What do you want?"  
"Anything's fine, thanks." I watched him go and felt quite pleased for a moment. He was one of the nicest guys I'd ever met and to think that he liked me was something that I couldn't wrap my mind around. That moment disappeared when I heard footsteps behind me and I, upon standing to look, saw the crazy fans. They weren't limited to three this time, their numbers were far greater and I felt threatened, especially with that cliff behind me.  
"Did you enjoy our little gift this morning?"  
"Of course I did, I love trash. That's why I like talking to you guys so much."  
"Regardless of that," the fancy one stepped out of the crowd, "you ignored our warnings. It's about time you faced the consequences." Seeing how that was an actual threat, I began to really fear for my life due to my not too strategic position. They had me surrounded and I had no means of escaping.  
"Girls." They took out baseball bats and weapons of the like. I looked down the cliff side over my shoulder and did some math, the survival rate of me falling was quite high, but I would rather not risk it if possible. The fancy one smiled.  
"Let's teach her some manners." They all charged at me and I tried to defend myself as best as I could against the girls, but I was no match for their combined strength. Within seconds, the fence had broken behind me and I was standing on the very edge of the cliff, beaten, bruised and bleeding as I struggled to keep my balance. The fancy one walked up to me and, with a last smile, gave me a little push. I toppled over the edge and closed my eyes, waiting for the end.


	8. If you insist

I woke up to someone screaming my name and opened my eyes. Everything hurt, so that was a pretty good indicator of the fact that I'd survived the fall. Ikki was hovering over me, eyes wide and teary, still shouting my name.  
"I'm not deaf." I grimaced. The words came out slightly warped so I wondered if he'd heard correctly. He stopped and just stared at me before really bursting out into tears.  
"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left you alone. I knew what they were capable of and I still did, I'm such an idiot. I'm so sorry."  
"This'll all heal, Ikki, no need to worry."  
"I guess that wish didn't work…"  
"It takes time, but it'll work. Don't be so sceptical." I sat up, groaning in pain as I assessed the damage. Broken arm, leg and probably some ribs too. Bloody scratches and bruises turned my skin into a colorful painting. Overall, however, there wasn't anything that wouldn't heal.  
"I already called an ambulance, you should stay down until they arrive." I followed his advice and carefully lay back down.  
"Was I out for long?"  
"Five minutes since I found you, so in total I think about seven." He squeezed my hand and shook his head.  
"That's not so bad…" I was sent into a coughing fit and every inch of my body burnt with pain.  
"Just stop talking for now. You should rest." I did as asked and slowly fell into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

I awoke in the hospital and yawned, feeling significantly less pain than before. I looked around to find Ikki by my side, fast asleep. My arm and leg were in solid casts and there were firm bandages around my chest to support all the broken parts. Big scratches had been bandaged while other, minor ones had been left alone.  
"Good to see you're awake." A nurse said as she walked in. Her tone was hushed so she wouldn't wake Ikki. "You were pretty beaten up." She stood by the bed and fiddled with the equipment.  
"Yeah, I was heavily outgunned." I smiled.  
"You're lucky to have had your boyfriend with you. If he hadn't called the ambulance, you would be in a much worse place now." It took a while for her words to actually arrive in my brain and by the time they did, she was already gone.  
"Boyfriend, huh?" I murmured as I smiled at the boy beside my bed.  
"If you insist." I started slightly, groaned in pain and gave him a gentle push.  
"Don't scare me like that." He smiled.  
"I couldn't help myself." His expression went from happy to worried. "How are you feeling?"  
"A lot better than before, actually. I mean, broken ribs are a bit of a pain since they can't be put in casts, but you know, this'll have to do." Something crucial suddenly popped into my head.  
"Oh my word, they didn't call my parents, did they?" He flinched slightly and averted his eyes.  
"They were quite persistent in getting the number of a guardian…"  
"You don't have my parents cell numbers, do you?" He shook his head. "And why would they even want that? I'm 19 years old." He raised his shoulders.  
"Well, whose number did you give them?" I heard my name being yelled exceptionally loud and let out a deep sigh, regretting that immediately afterward as pain coursed through my body. Waka stood in the door opening, panting heavily and glared at Ikki.  
"You!" He said as he walked up to the boy and grabbed his collar. "You did this to her! You're fired! You worthless piece of-" I forced myself up.  
"Waka." He instantly released Ikki and walked over to my bed. He hadn't even looked at me as he charged at Ikki, as he was visibly shocked by the state I was in.  
"No need to be mad at him, it's not his fault." I said, nodding at Ikki. Waka turned to him.  
"Can I talk to you for a bit?" They both left the room and judging by how I couldn't hear their voices anymore, I figured they'd moved away a considerable distance.

* * *

They came back a little later. Ikki sat down in the chair and Waka stood at the bed again.  
"Are they on vacation again?" He asked, looking slightly guilty.  
"Yeah, they left yesterday. Sorry that they called you instead."  
"What? No, no, don't be sorry." He carefully hugged me, then let me go again. "I talked to the nurse and she said you get to go home soon." His tone didn't match the nature of the news.  
"Well, that's good, isn't it?"  
"It is, but I want you to come live with me for a while. At least until you're capable of doing things on your own again." I knew I was in no condition to be moving about and taking care of myself at the moment, so I nodded.  
"Sure." I looked at Ikki and back at Waka. "So, what did you talk about?" I knew he wasn't going to tell me, but I figured I might still try.  
"I just apologized for firing him and officially hired him again." I knew he was lying, but I decided to leave it alone for now.  
"Good, Ikki performed admirably under pressure." Ikki looked up, feigned a smile, then hung his head again.

* * *

Days passed slowly and I pretty much spent them watching tv and texting Ikki, who wasn't able to come by much anymore because "Waka is working me to the bone". I had no trouble believing that, but there had to be more. Then the day finally came where I was allowed to leave the hospital. I was wheeled out in the wheelchair and got into Waka's car.  
"How are you?" He asked as he looked at me in the rear view mirror.  
"A little better every day."  
"That's good to hear. Knowing you, you'll be up and about soon enough." I laughed.  
"Probably, yeah." I'd always been quick to recover from injuries like these, especially with Waka's special treatment. He'd always been an exceptional cook, even though he didn't really look like it.

* * *

His apartment was smaller than I expected, but then I realized that he had a business to pay for, so that probably took most of his expenses. And I always liked smaller places, they were much cosier.  
"It's not much in comparison to where we once lived, but you know, it's home." He seemed slightly flustered.  
"Are you okay? Your face is a bit red." I asked as he sat me down on the couch.  
"Yeah, sure, it's just a bit hot in here." I couldn't argue with that, it was incredibly hot.  
"If you're uncomfortable, you should turn down the heat a bit."  
"I thought you'd heal faster if it was warmer." He admitted.  
"I doubt it. I've always been more of a cold lover."  
"You're right, I'll turn it down."  
"Thanks again for taking me in like this, I'll make sure to pay back any expenses, okay?"  
"Nonsense!" He said loudly. "You're my sister, I will accept no money from you." I flickered my eyes a few times, then laughed.  
"Okay, okay, calm down. But you'll have to make sure mom and dad won't find out or they'll insist."  
"Probably. Instead of worrying about you, they'd worry about how it affected others." He sounded slightly angry. He then sighed and sat down next to me.  
"This is nice though. Just like the old times." I said, grinning as I leaned against him. My father's spartan upbringing had left little room for teaching me how affection worked. I had Waka to thank for that.  
"Well, you've grown a lot."  
"So have you, you know. If it hadn't been for the stern look, I'd hardly have recognized you."  
"Am I that different?" He asked surprised.  
"You're more of an adult now, I guess."  
"Growing up was something even I went through, don't fret." I laughed, then started coughing. Waka immediately turned to me, unsure of what to do.  
"Are you okay?" I nodded.  
"This happens now and then, my lungs are recovering too."  
"I'll get you a cup of tea."

* * *

With a nice warm cup of tea in my hands, I smiled contently.  
"What were you doing out there, actually?" I wasn't sure if telling the truth would be the best option here, but Waka knew me well enough to know when I was lying.  
"I was helping Ikki with something he's dealing with."  
"And his fans happened, I guess?" I nodded.  
"I could've expected it though. It wasn't very smart to stand right by the cliff." Waka sighed.  
"You shouldn't have to think strategically in the normal world, Alice."  
"This happens when I don't."  
"You should"Ve just broken it off with him as soon as they started it." I shrugged.  
"You know me, Waka, I don't back away from anything." I said proudly.  
"I know you. Well, as you might have guessed, I told Ikki to stay away from you for the time being." I wanted to speak, but he quickly continued. "Only until you're back to full health. I might be able to force him to stay away from you, but I can't do the same with you."  
"You're right, because I'm not abandoning him. I'm determined to help him as much as I possibly can."  
"There's no changing your mind, so just watch yourself, okay? The last thing I want to do is attend a funeral." He stood up and walked away.

* * *

Weeks passed and things got easier every day. I'd had casts before, but it always required some getting back into. Waka obviously didn't approve of my way of thinking, but that wasn't unusual. Despite our good bond, we disagreed about many things which often led to heated debates.

* * *

After 4 weeks, only 2 more weeks until the casts could come off, we'd gotten in such a big fight that he decided to spend the day at the café. I grabbed one of the knitting needles on the table and stuck it down my cast. I had to use knitting needles to scratch the skin that was shielded by the casts. Without much success, however, as I could never quite get that one spot. I groaned as I pulled it back out and put it down. I took my phone and checked it for messages. I'd gotten less and less messages from Ikki and sometimes, he'd even completely ignored my messages. Not only did it leave me unsure about things, it made me even more bored than before as I now had literally nothing to do.

* * *

Waka had found it strange that I wouldn't press charges against my assailants, but I somehow felt that would be a cowardly thing to do. I was determined to see this through to the very end, no matter what that may be, on my own. Or at least with Ikki, because it was still him who would be the true victim in the end. I looked at the clock and frowned. It was 6 o'clock already.  
"Time really does waste away when you're doing nothing…" I muttered as I leaned back and let out a deep sigh. I moved my phone around in my hands and stared intently at it, as if that would somehow invoke a phone call or text.  
"H_e should be done by now though."_ I unlocked the phone, went to the contacts screen and hit Ikki's name, holding the phone by my ear.

* * *

It took him long to answer. I figured he had to wonder about whether he'd even answer or not.  
"Hey."  
"Well, that's an abundant greeting. Hey to you too." I said as I looked up at the ceiling.  
"Sorry, I just…" I could hear him swallowing. "I just think that we shouldn't… um, see eachother anymore."  
"Waka isn't standing next to you, is he?"  
"No, this is my decision."  
"Let me guess, because you're afraid they'll do this again if you go on?"  
"Spot on, as always."  
"So you're giving in?" He sighed.  
"It's not giving in. I'm just worried about you, I mean, you could've died and I don't want that to happen to you." I found it an admirable reason, because I could hear he was having a hard time.  
"You remember how you sort of stalked me when we just met?"  
"I wouldn't call it that, but yes. Why do you ask?"  
"Expect the same thing from me, because I'm not giving up on you." I hung up and sniffled.  
_'These damn pills are making me emotional.'_


	9. It feels like giving in

"I'm really not pleased that you're trying to avoid me." I said as I followed Ikki.  
"You know that I'm doing- _trying_ to do this for your own good." He countered.  
"That's of little use when I'm following you, is it?"  
"It is, so if you could stop that'd be great."  
"Ikki, come on, you don't want this either do you?" I grabbed his arm to stop him, but he spoke before I had a chance to.  
"Please just go and don't make this any harder than it already is. Oh and to show that I'm really serious about this, talk to Waka." With that, he walked off and a fast pace. I growled some swear words and turned around to head back to the café.

* * *

I walked into Waka's office and sat down in the chair in front of his desk.  
"Ikki said to come talk to you." I said, obviously annoyed.  
"He made a very wise and selfless decision, so don't judge him too harshly."  
"He quit, didn't he?" Waka nodded.  
"You do understand his reasoning, right?"  
"I do, but I feel that this is the wrong way to handle the situation. It feels like giving in and that's weird." Waka laughed.  
"How would you solve this situation then?" I shrugged.  
"Just getting rid of whatever the problem is should work, right?" Waka nodded.  
"But you can't just "Get rid of' an entire group of people." Then she had a great idea and she quickly shared it with Waka.

* * *

"That might work." He admitted. "But it has a lot of unstable variables."  
"I agree, but I'm sure it'll work." He stood up and nodded.  
"Then let's begin the preparations."

* * *

Waka had called Ikki and asked him to come to the café the next day after closing times, saying he had to discuss his final paycheck. I had tracked down the fancy fangirl and had asked her to meet me at the same place, to explain the current situation. The fancy girl and her two followers, who she brought along as uninvited extra"S, arrived exactly on time, just as expected. Waka had gone outside to make sure the other part of the plan would follow the script.  
"Care to explain why you called us out here?" Fancy girl said.  
"For the record, I only called you out here, not them. But that's alright, I guess." She rolled her eyes.  
"Well get on with it then."  
"Right, the reason is very simple. I would like to say that I'm nowhere near done with this. I admit, the cliff thing was a big screwup on my part, but I assure you it won't happen again. You can expect a worthy opponent now."  
"You know, you really haven"T learned from your mistakes if you think we'd just leave now." One of her followers threw down the duffel bag she'd been carrying and got out three baseball bats, handing one to the other extra and one to the fancy girl. I feigned a surprised and anxious reaction and took a few steps back.

* * *

Waka, who had been listening closely, opened the door to let Ikki in. The girls were too busy attacking me to notice Ikki coming in, but Ikki certainly did notice what was happening and didn't hesitate to step in. He grabbed one of the bats in mid air and snatched it out of the girl's hand.  
"What the hell do you all think you're doing?!" He yelled as he pushed me behind him. The two extra's hid behind the fancy one, who was stammering an explanation.  
"I- She- We-"  
"You know what? I've had it with you! You've always made sure that I never had any happiness and I've always put up with it, but no more. I will not be your puppet any longer. If I see any of you ever again, I'm making sure that you'll spend the rest of your lives in jail. Do you understand me?" That last sentence was so dead serious and cold that it made me shiver. The girls nodded, one of the extra"S broke down in tears and the other extra had to drag her along in their escape. Ikki dropped the bat and turned to me, worry in his eyes.  
"Are you okay? How bad is it?" I smiled.  
"Just a few bruises. They hadn't been at me for very long." I turned to Waka. "Thanks for the perfect timing, by the way." Ikki frowned, looking from me to Waka and back.  
"You two set this up, didn't you?"  
"We did and you performed exactly according to the script." Waka said, nodding.  
"I figured they wouldn't listen to me, but they would to their lord and savior."  
"How did you know I was going to react the way I did?" I shrugged.  
"I trusted you." He let out a deep breath and hugged me. I shrank back slightly, as he managed to get to every bruised spot somehow, but bore with it anyway.


	10. You

"Did you bring the watermelon?" I asked as I turned to Ikki. He tapped the bag that was hung over his shoulder and nodded.  
"The one thing I never forget when going to the beach."  
"Awesome."

* * *

We sat down at the least crowded spot, laid out our plaid and stuck our little parasol into the sand.  
"This is nice." I said as I looked at the calm waves washing up on the shore.  
"Couldn't agree more." He stroked my arm. "Those bruises still aren't gone."  
"It's only been a few weeks, they're bound to stay a while longer." I felt Ikki's eyes on me and turned to meet them, seeing a large amount of guilt in them.  
"It was worth it, though. This was a much better solution than yours." I said, half joking.  
"In the end, I suppose it was. At that moment, though, I don't think I felt the same way." He grinned. "Still, I must"Ve looked like quite the hero back there."  
"Of course, you played your part expertly."  
"There are a few things I still wonder about though." He said curiously.  
"Ask away, nothing in the world could ruin my mood right now."  
"How did you get Waka to go along with it? He hates my guts."  
"He doesn't hate your guts, you wouldn't be working with him if he did. But Waka can tell when I want to give something my all and he always supports me, same thing here."  
"Okay, I guess. How did you know everything would go as it did?"  
"I didn't, everything was entirely up to you and them. I just trusted in their ... violent nature and your good will. That worked out okay." He pushed me down onto the ground and got on top of me.  
"Thank you, Alice. I guess that wish did work in the end, somehow."  
"Mine did too."  
"What was yours?" I leaned up and kissed him.  
"You."

THE END


End file.
